SOIL SCIENCE—GOALS FOR THE NEXT 75 YEARS

Abstract

Proposing long-time goals for soil science entails an article of faith, namely, that improvements are both possible and feasible over the long haul. On that basis four goals are proposed as major ones for the coming decades. First, more of the basic principles that underlie the multitude of processes operating in soils must be identified; to that end, a shift will be needed in the current emphasis in soil research: less effort should go into empirical studies. Second, soil scientists must do better than they have to gain the standing in the scientific community as a whole that their subject matter warrants; soil scientists do not have such standing now. Third, more effective links should be forged with professionals in other disciplines whose work depends much or little on soils but who are outside of agriculture; some such links have been developed in the past, but more are needed to make soil science most useful to the public at large. Fourth, the public image of soil needs to be made more accurate. Commonplace as soils are, they are largely taken for granted with little or no appreciation of the complexity of processes operating in the systems. The limited understanding in turn limits possible applications of soil science that would be-useful.

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